Rowing on the river

UA team to compete in concrete canoe in Miami this month

Members of the civil engineering team at the University of Alabama practice for the endurance course in a concrete canoe on the Black Warrior River on Sunday.

Erin Nelson | The Tuscaloosa News

By Ken RobertsCity Editor

Published: Monday, March 4, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 11:39 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | A canoe made of concrete may seem to violate the laws of physics, but a team of University of Alabama engineering students built one.

Eighteen UA students practiced Sunday in the Black Warrior River in preparation for the American Society of Civil Engineers' Southeast Conference Concrete Canoe Competition, which will be March 14-16 in Miami.

Last year, UA students designed a concrete canoe named April's Fury, inspired by Tuscaloosa's recovery from the April 27, 2011, tornado.

This year's canoe design draws its inspiration from medieval times.

“This year, we're having a King Arthur theme,” said Steven Burroughs, the team's captain, a senior civil engineering major from Saraland.

Josh Morrison, the team's co-captain and a senior civil engineering major from Etowah County, said the team bought its own mold for the canoe this year instead of constructing it themselves.

Morrison said the decision saved the team more than 300 hours of labor. This year it took four hours to construct the canoe instead of the usual 8-12 hours.

After pouring wet concrete over the foam mold to establish the canoe's shape, the team finished construction by applying a layer of fiber mesh reinforcement between each of the two layers of concrete.

Then, members placed the canoe in a large tub of water to hydrate the concrete, allowing it to harden.

The day before the competition, each team will display its canoe and, since they saved so much time by purchasing the mold, the UA team was able to put significant effort into the construction of their display, a model of a castle that they constructed with wood and tile.

About 20 teams will compete, and each will be judged on display, an oral presentation, an 18-page paper detailing the building process and a canoe race.

Other team members are:

n Nathan Klenke, a junior civil engineering major from Lebanon, Ohio, who is a co-captain.

n Carrie Pope, a senior construction and civil engineering major from Linden, who is a co-captain.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | A canoe made of concrete may seem to violate the laws of physics, but a team of University of Alabama engineering students built one.</p><p>Eighteen UA students practiced Sunday in the Black Warrior River in preparation for the American Society of Civil Engineers' Southeast Conference Concrete Canoe Competition, which will be March 14-16 in Miami.</p><p>Last year, UA students designed a concrete canoe named April's Fury, inspired by Tuscaloosa's recovery from the April 27, 2011, tornado.</p><p>This year's canoe design draws its inspiration from medieval times.</p><p>“This year, we're having a King Arthur theme,” said Steven Burroughs, the team's captain, a senior civil engineering major from Saraland.</p><p>Josh Morrison, the team's co-captain and a senior civil engineering major from Etowah County, said the team bought its own mold for the canoe this year instead of constructing it themselves. </p><p>Morrison said the decision saved the team more than 300 hours of labor. This year it took four hours to construct the canoe instead of the usual 8-12 hours. </p><p>After pouring wet concrete over the foam mold to establish the canoe's shape, the team finished construction by applying a layer of fiber mesh reinforcement between each of the two layers of concrete. </p><p>Then, members placed the canoe in a large tub of water to hydrate the concrete, allowing it to harden.</p><p>The day before the competition, each team will display its canoe and, since they saved so much time by purchasing the mold, the UA team was able to put significant effort into the construction of their display, a model of a castle that they constructed with wood and tile.</p><p>About 20 teams will compete, and each will be judged on display, an oral presentation, an 18-page paper detailing the building process and a canoe race.</p><p>Other team members are:</p><p>n Nathan Klenke, a junior civil engineering major from Lebanon, Ohio, who is a co-captain.</p><p>n Carrie Pope, a senior construction and civil engineering major from Linden, who is a co-captain.</p><p>n Kristi Bardosi, a junior civil engineering major from Orangevale, Calif.</p><p>n Maddy Bodiford, a sophomore civil engineering major from San Ramon, Calif.</p><p>n Kelly Cason, a sophomore civil engineering major from Huntsville.</p><p>n Brennan Glynn, a sophomore civil engineering major from Madison.</p><p>n Jennifer Lester, a sophomore civil engineering major from Overland Park, Kan.</p><p>n Preston Jutte, a freshman civil engineering major from Franklin, Tenn.</p><p>n Owen Killeen, a junior civil engineering major from Preston, Conn.</p><p>n Kylie Morrison, a senior in civil engineering from Ashville.</p><p>n James New, a sophomore civil engineering major from Hockessin, Del.</p><p>n William Phillips, a junior construction and civil engineering major from Northport.</p><p>n Brittany Shake, a junior civil engineering major from Flower Mound, Texas.</p><p>n Tina Sheikhzeinoddin, a junior civil engineering student from Vestavia Hills.</p><p>n Jenna Simandl, a junior in civil engineering from Cincinnati.</p><p>n Rick Tyler, a junior in civil engineering from Tuscaloosa.</p>